Striker John Aloisi says the Melbourne Heart need to build on the momentum generated by three consecutive A-League wins.
Heart travels across the Nullarbor to play Perth Glory on Sunday and Aloisi knows only a positive result will be sufficient as Heart tries to book a finals berth.
“We now need to go on with it, as winning those three games doesn-t mean anything if we can’t,” Aloisi said.
“We want to go over to Perth, get a result and hopefully go on from there.”
Heart currently lies sixth with 30 points from 24 matches and is locked in a battle featuring four sides (Heart, Melbourne Victory, Wellington Phoenix and Newcastle), but only two available play-off berths.
The fact the A-League-s newest club is even in the finals hunt may well be down to the former Socceroos star.
His last-minute winner against Adelaide United sparked this latest unbeaten run and, more importantly, stopped a streak which saw the Heart glean just one point from a possible 21.
“We needed those three wins. The game against Adelaide really changed it for us, winning right at the end gave us that boost to win the next two games,” Aloisi said.
“These last six games are going to be really important for the club.”
Heart will tackle the long Perth trip at a good time, having enjoyed a 13-day break between matches.
“Everyone is refreshed. Mentally, it was good for us to get away for a few days and physically recharge the batteries,” Aloisi said.
Heart coach John van ‘t Schip is tipped to have the luxury of a near full-strength squad for the clash, with mercurial Dutchman Gerald Sibon and Brazilian Alex Terra pressing hard for starting positions.
The pair made strong impacts off the bench in Heart’s last-start 2-0 win over North Queensland having both recently returned from injury.
